Today, On 10th May, The High Court requested the Lokpal’s feedback regarding the JMM’s objection to the CBI’s order for investigating party assets. This legal development pertains to a challenge against the investigation order issued by the CBI on properties linked to the JMM. The court seeks the Lokpal’s perspective on this matter, indicating a significant legal scrutiny of the ongoing investigation.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, on Friday requested a response from the Lokpal regarding a petition by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The petition challenges a directive from the anti-corruption watchdog that instructed the CBI to investigate two properties owned by the party. During the proceedings, the high court added the Lokpal of India as a respondent following an assertion by the lawyer for BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who argued that his involvement concluded with the filing of the corruption complaint.
Justice Subramonium Prasad ordered,
“Issue a notice to the Lokpal, who is to submit a reply to the petition. Schedule the case for hearing on July 20.”
Arunabh Chowdhury, the senior counsel representing JMM, announced plans to update the party list in the petition to include the Lokpal.
Previously, the high court directed Dubey to respond to JMM’s appeal against the Lokpal’s order from March 4, which mandated a CBI investigation into two properties linked to Jharkhand’s governing party. Dubey alleged that these properties are held under false names by party leader Shibu Soren.
Dubey’s attorney argued that since the Lok Sabha MP’s involvement concluded with the complaint, the Lokpal should now be included in the case.
In response, the court questioned the logic of involving the issuer of the judgment.
The judge directed a question to Dubey’s lawyer,
“Why should the issuer of the judgment be included as a party? It was based on your complaint that the Lokpal issued the order. If you were to challenge any of my decisions, would you consider making the Delhi High Court a party?”
On April 23, the high court issued a restraining order to the Lokpal, preventing them from taking any further action until May 10. This came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a report regarding their investigation into two properties.
The counsel representing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) argued that the properties belonged to the political party, not its leader Shibu Soren. They contended that the Lokpal exceeded its jurisdiction as defined by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, as the inquiry should only be initiated against an individual, not a political party. Furthermore, since the CBI already concluded in a previous report that the properties were owned by the JMM, the counsel argued that the Lokpal’s order went beyond the scope of the Act.
Read Also: JMM Petitions with Delhi HC Over Lokpal’s CBI Probe Order
The Lokpal, acting on a complaint by Dubey, directed the CBI to investigate alleged benami properties linked to Shibu Soren within six months. This decision made while resolving Dubey’s complaint, which filed on August 5, 2020. The JMM, represented by advocate Abhishek Roy, filed a petition in the high court, asserting that the Lokpal’s order, legally invalid and lacked jurisdiction. The petition claimed that the order, passed without the JMM’s knowledge and without issuing a notice to the party beforehand.